


Mind

by Hypnocampus



Category: Wizard101
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-07 03:01:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11049924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hypnocampus/pseuds/Hypnocampus
Summary: Cecilia stumbled backwards through the inky darkness as the strange being decended towards her. It was formless at first, made up of smokey reddish tendrils, but soon took on the vague shape of a human, with two glowing orbs where its eyes should've been. "what...what are you?" she gasped, taking another step back. The creature leaned in, examining her closely. "I am Ashes."





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I've been working on for a while. It's a bit of a fictional prequel of the events that kick off the in-game story of Wizard101. But it's meant to stand alone as its own narrative. You might find it posted on other sites as well. Enjoy!

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Oh spirits, don't let it be for me."

Kyra Steelwater was less than pleased to be aroused in the middle of the night. She had been sleeping soundly in the barracks of the Wizard City Corps, exhausted after her first three days on active duty. It was an honor of course, to be a part of such a prestigious service, but the work was backbreaking and dangerous, and she'd hoped to at least get a few more hours of rest before the next day began. So it was hard for her to feel honored as a messenger sprite came screeching down the line of beds, flashing red and waking every wizard in the room as it came to a stop at her feet. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, and ignoring the annoyed groans from around her, Kyra snapped upright and grasped her wand from its case beside her bed. She tapped the flashing red orb smartly with the tip of her wand. In response, it dimmed to a low orange glow.

"Directive." She ordered the orb in a low but firm voice.

"Private Steelwater. You are ordered to report to Captain Hunter immediately at the headmaster's office of Ravenwood."

"Ravenwood… and a Captain?" Kyra murmured thoughtfully. She hadn't been to Ravenwood since her official graduation as a Necromancer over twelve months before. Strange that she should be ordered there now. And to be reporting to a captain was something else altogether. Captains were well decorated and highly experienced officers; they rarely dealt directly with something as petty as a private's assignment. Whatever was going on, it must have been important.

"Understood." She told the sphere, before dispelling it into nothingness.

Kyra worked quickly, stripping out of her nightclothes and donning her grey and black uniform, before folding her blanket neatly at the foot of her bed. Officers were quick to reprimand any sloppiness among the young soldiers. She tied her dark black hair back while jogging down the line of bunks, where other wizards still slept, thankful that they had not been the ones chosen for such a late night assignment. She ran down the stairs two at a time, all thoughts of sleep gone once she reached the first floor of the barracks. A full moon greeted her as she stepped out into the yard. It was empty, save for a few wizards scurrying along on late night duties. Archaic looking stone buildings towered over her, but she ignored them, instead heading to a series of stone slabs fixated in the center of the yard, short ranged teleportation stones, designed only to teleport over the expanse of a single world. Adept wizards could, of course, teleport without the use of a stone, but only over very short distances, usually no more than a mile. A few dozen of them were arranged in a spiral pattern, each one leading to an important place in Wizard City. Kyra soon found the stone she needed, a rounded rock about three feet high with the intricate glyph of a tree carved into it. Upon placing her hand over the glyph, a faint glow emanated from the stone and it became warm to the touch.

"Excitant," Kyra ordered. No sooner had the command left her mouth that a bright flash burst from the stone, engulfing her body in a brilliant white light. For a brief moment, she was left hanging in an ineffable void, until she materialized on the cobblestone path of the Ravenwood school commons. She paused for a moment to take in her surroundings. Even in the dark of night, Kyra would recognize her old school anywhere. She had spent the better part of a decade living within the academy walls; and every brick was familiar to her. The school itself lay behind her, accessible through a stone tunnel. In front of her lay a small town for the school's employees. The biggest of the buildings, an enormous stone construct surrounded by a tall fence, held the office of Headmaster Ambrose. Briskly, Kyra made her way to the entrance, brushing past a few late night students, who looked curiously at the uniformed soldier.

Light streamed through the entrance as she eased the door to the headmaster's office open. The room itself was a glorious mess. Papers, books, and important looking documents lay in towering stacks around the room. It was strange for Kyra at first, after graduating from Ravenwood; her twelve months of intense post graduate combat training had taught her that cleanliness and order were essential to a well-functioning military force. It was easy to forget that outside of the Corps, Wizards were known for their quirky and chaotic lifestyles.

Beyond the piles of paperwork, she could see her old headmaster, Merle Ambrose, an aged wizard in long purple robes and a beard so long he could tuck it into his belt. He was speaking with a man who she presumed must be Captain Hunter. He was a fairly young man, probably early thirties, with piercing dark eyes, a hooked nose and straight brown hair cropped just below his ears. A brilliant red emblem in the center of his uniform identified him as a pyromancer. They both looked up as she entered.

"Sir!" Kyra saluted smartly at the captain.

"At ease, Steelwater," he told her before turning to bend over an array of papers spread out over the headmaster's desk. Kyra relaxed her stance, awaiting her next orders. It was quite unnerving for her, standing alone at the presence of a Captain. What could possibly have qualified her to be here? Oblivious, Headmaster Ambrose beamed at her.

"Kyra, it's been so long! You look well." He pulled her into an embrace, a gesture that now seemed awkward and overly affectionate to her, especially in front of a Captain. But then, Ambrose had always been so open and friendly to his students. However, pulling away, she could something troubling in his eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

Before Ambrose could answer, Captain Hunter turned back to them with a sheet of parchment in his hands; he held it out for her to see.

"Earlier today," He began "This letter arrived for the headmaster, originating from a well-known Marleybonian Necromancer, Professor Xavier Dawn. No doubt you have heard of him?"

"Yes sir," Kyra responded immediately. Xavier Dawn's work on magic theory and alchemy was revered, and she had frequently studied his books during her years at Ravenwood.

"Unfortunately we received some troubling information within its contents. If you would read?"

Kyra took a closer look at the parchment in his hands. It was a hand written letter, addressed to Ambrose.

Regarding Operation AA

Dear Prof. Ambrose,

Operation Arcane Alchemist continues to be successful. By channeling elemental magic through arcane symbols, Riva and I have been able to synthesize several heavy metals through processes that were previously thought to be impossible. We have not been able to produce gold yet, but we should be able to achieve that ultimate result with a bit more experimentation.

Beyond the formal experiments, I have been working on some personal investigations regarding elemental magic and the diagram that represents them. I understand that the elemental diagram is among the first things taught at the Wizard City Academy. However, I have found issue with this diagram. The diagram places Balance at the center of the elemental schools, establishing the idea that its power comes from a combination of the six elements. While I can understand how balance derives from the schools of Ice, Fire, and Storm, I do not see any utilization of the schools of Life, death, and myth. Life, Death, and Myth do have enough connections to be interposed between Ice, Fire, and Storm, but do not contribute at all to Balance.

My interpretation of these elements would have an eighth school, one that more directly combines Life, Death, and Myth. I always found the 2-dimensional spiral shape of the diagram to be rather absurd anyways, as the spiral possesses no elemental distribution that even remotely matches the elemental diagram. As the architect behind this theory, I have been referring to this theoretical eighth school as 'Mind' or more officially, Psychomancy.

Riva has had to focus more on the kids, but I have already started preliminary experiments in combining Live, Death, and Myth, with the same combinatory style of balance. I haven't had much luck; the combination takes incredible mental effort. I am hopeful though. I would like to know your thoughts on my new interpretation on elemental magic.

Kyra took a step back, her head spinning at the possibility of an eighth school, Mind? She had never thought such a thing possible, given the current diagram of the magical elements.

"So you can see." Captain Hunter continued, "Our dear professor Xavier's personal research has been delving into some interesting theories. Unfortunately, this poses a real threat to us. Steelwater, everything you hear now is extremely classified. Breath word of it to anyone outside this room, and you will be convicted of treason. Understood?"

"Sir!" Kyra confirmed.

Hunter turned toward the headmaster.

"Ambrose, you know about the school of mind more than any wizard we know of. Perhaps you would like to explain?"

"Of course." The headmaster turned to Kyra.

"Professor Dawn is correct about the existence of an eighth school. The primitive diagram we teach our students establishes the school of balance as the center of all things magic. This is not true however; rather it is only the center of three of our schools, Ice, Fire, and Storm." He pointed to the cube diagram shown in the letter. One corner of the cube was labeled with the balance symbol, and the three corners it intersected with were labeled with the symbols of Fire, Ice, and Storm.

"The school of Mind," He continued, pointing to the opposite side of the cube "Is considered the school which binds the other three: Life, Death, and Myth."

"Unfortunately, while the magic of mind is incredibly powerful, it is also hard to predict, and nearly impossible to control." Captain Hunter cut in.

"What makes it so different from the others?" Kyra Queried.

"All of the schools you are familiar with work primarily with physical attacks. Mind, however, is different. It draws from the essence of the human mind; the Life which we are given, the Myth and mystery of how our minds work, and its inevitable death and demise. It comes from the root of all life, carries its own intelligence, essentially, it is the magic that thinks for itself. Mind will attack a person's consciousness rather than their body, rendering any conventional shields and physical barriers worthless." Ambrose bowed his head somberly.

"So the shields we put up to protect the students-" Kyra began

"Completely useless, not to mention that it's direct attack on the mind leaves a person extremely susceptible to possession." Hunter finished her statement. "This is why the school of mind is such a closely guarded secret. Its knowledge is granted strictly on a need-to-know basis. With Professor Dawn conducting his experiments in such a public area, he is putting everyone around him at risk of death, not to mention that a wizard like him simply can't be trusted to keep such a secret."

"Now Captain, Professor Dawn has been one of my dearest friends for years, I can assure you that his trustworthiness is-" A sharp glare from the captain silenced the headmaster.

"Ambrose, I understand that you and your fellow mages may be of exemplary character, however, this is a highly sensitive matter, and you know we can't simply let this information run unchecked. Professor Dawn, wittingly or not, is putting innocent people at risk. You contacted us for a reason; now let Steelwater and I do our job."

With a deep sigh, Ambrose took a step back.

"Very well Captain, I suppose we have no choice. I will leave you and Kyra to your work." He moved towards the door.

"Thank you Ambrose. We will do our best to see that Professor Dawn comes to no harm."

"I know you will Hunter, I know you will." Ambrose waved is hand dismissively as the office door clicked shut behind him.

Captain Hunter Turned to regard Kyra intently,

"We have already notified the Marleybonian Police force that there is a potentially dangerous wizard housed in the city. We are to rendezvous with them outside of Newgate prison. From there, we will move into Chelsea Court, where the professor lives with his wife and two young children. Our objective is to detain Mr. Dawn, and escort him back to headquarters in Wizard City. With luck, he has yet to delve into the true power of the school of mind."

"And if he has, Sir?" Kyra asked.

"Then hopefully whatever it is he has unleashed will be weak enough for the two of us to subdue. We highly doubt that in such a short amount of time Professor Dawn will have made much progress. It's a precaution, really. Are you ready for your first real assignment, Steelwater?"

"Yes Sir…but," Kyra faltered for a moment.

"But what Steelwater? Out with it."

"Why me Sir? I understand that this is a highly classified matter, then why assign a newly appointed Private to the mission?" This question had troubled her since she'd read the letter.

The captain stared at her for a long moment, Until Kyra felt like squirming under his gaze. Finally, he spoke.

"Steelwater, what would you say your greatest strength is as a wizard?"

"Sir?" Kyra was startled by the elementary question.

"Did I stutter? Answer the question."

"Well Sir, I have always received well above average scores on my resistance abilities, but I thought the magic of Mind circumnavigated such defenses."

"Your close Steelwater, Specifically, you've shown in training an extraordinary resistance to spells which are meant to coerce, like beguile, which demonstrate that you have superb mental resistance. The magic of Mind can pass magical barriers, but it must break mental ones, of which you are an exemplary specimen. This is why you were chosen, doubt yourself, and you have already failed. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then let's be off, I want to be done with this ordeal before daybreak."

"Alright chaps! You know the drill; I want the building surrounded in under a minute, not a window left unchecked! We don't know how dangerous this fellow is, so we'll be taking no chances!"

Barely an hour had passed since Kyra was briefed on her mission. Since then she and Captain Hunter had made the swift journey to Marleybone through Ravenwood's spiral door, allied with Deputy Malone and his squad of Bipedal dogs, and made their way to Chelsea court. Smog lay thick over the city, acrid and foul in comparison to the fresh air of Wizard City. Kyra wrinkled her nose in distain as she surveyed the Victorian style brick buildings. In front of them lay the nicest of them all, a manor made of polished stone rather than brick, with tall marble pillars marking the entrance; the home of the revered alchemist, Professor Xavier Dawn.

Blue clad officers moved to surround the building under the sharp watchful eyes of Deputy Malone, a distinguished Biped dog with a wolfish face and pointed ears. He turned to Captain Hunter.

"You're set to enter the establishment sir. My men may not be wizards, but we've got sharp eyes and keen noses. He won't be sneaking out past us." He lifted his paw in a kind of salute.

"You have our gratitude, Officer." Hunter returned the gesture before turning to Steelwater.

"Ready?"

"Of course captain." Kyra grasped her wand from the sheath at her side.

They took positions on either side of the door. She had done similar raids such as this in training, but they had all been staged. Still, the steps were the same. She undid the bolt on the door with a quick unlocking spell. Captain Hunter threw the door ajar and burst through the entrance, his wand at the ready for any dangers that may have been present. When nothing happened, he motioned Kyra inside as well. The room was dark, but the moonlight streaming through the windows provided a bit of light to see by.

Captain Hunter's wand glowed softly as he materialized a vibrant glowing sphere of light. With a flick of his wrist, it shattered into dozens of tiny filaments that zipped about the room and down hallways. Wherever they went, the lights in the room flickered to life. Kyra squinted in the brightness. They were in the grand foyer of the manor. Polished marble floors, mahogany end tables, even a grand glass chandelier hung from the ceiling.

"Professor Xavier Dawn, come to the front of the establishment with your arms raised!" Hunter shouted, his booming voice echoing along the long corridors leading away from the foyer. He waited a moment, one ear cocked for any sound. Only an eerie silence greeted them.

"Perhaps they are asleep, sir?" Kyra suggested.

"Unlikely," Hunter responded, starting down one of the hallways, "Professor Dawn is well known for doing much of his work at night. Necromancers are funny like that. Even if they were asleep, my spell earlier turned on every light in the establishment. One would think that would wake someone up."

"Then what would-" Whatever question Kyra was going to ask was quickly forgotten, as they turned a corner into a sort of parlor. It may have been a nice parlor, if not for the spattering of blood covering the furniture. In the center of the room sprawled a body. A young woman with raven hair lay in a pool of dark red blood, a broken wand still clenched in her fist. Kyra gasped and put a hand to her mouth, frozen stiff with shock. Hunter on the other hand, sprang to life, rushing to the woman's side and placing two fingers on her neck. Seconds later he stood, head shaking.

"His wife, she's dead. We're too late damn it!" He looked to Kyra, who still stood frozen and pale.

"Snap out of it, soldier! I need you on this one!" he pushed her roughly by the shoulders. Kyra took a breath, shaking her head to clear her mind.

"Sorry sir, I just-"

"Never mind what it was, whatever he's unleashed is probably still in here!"

As if on cue, a low groan echoed through the manor. Hunter and Kyra instinctively moved to stand back to back, wands at the ready. She could feel the air around Hunter grow hotter as the pyromancer prepared for the coming fight. Kyra focused herself, opening her mind to the dark forces she'd trained for years to wield. They whispered to her, pulled at her. It was no matter, she could bend them to her will. Heavy, shambling footsteps could be heard down the hallway, gradually getting louder. An inhuman shriek pierced the air, making Kyra jump.

"Be ready Kyra, Mind magic is unpredictable, so we don't know how powerful this thing is."

With another agonizing cry, the creature appeared around the corner. Kyra gasped. Whatever it was, it had once been Professor Dawn, but his features were now barely recognizable on the contorted face. Inky black blood dripped from his eyes, nose, and mouth, staining the polished floor. He crawled on grossly mal-proportioned limbs, veins bulging and convulsing along his extremities. Reaching for them with a claw like hand, he shrieked again, and lunged, smoky black tendrils reaching from his body to grasp at Kyra. Instinctively, she put up a shield, but the tendrils bypassed the shimmering barrier as though it were not even there. She screamed as they wrapped around her arms and legs', holding her prisoner and burning her limbs as what was left of the professor leaped at her.

Captain Hunter raised his summoning arm in a blaze of fire. The air above him crackled to life, forming series of fireballs that pelted the professor. The professor shrieked and stumbled back, the smell of burning flesh filling the room. He recovered after only a moment, turning to lunge at Hunter. The tendrils still held Kyra fast, boring through her head into her mind, tearing at her consciousness. Her skull seared like it had been split by an axe. She screamed again, trying to push the invader away through sheer will. Meanwhile Hunter dodged the professor's lunge, preparing to launch another spell.

The end of his wand glowed with a fiery light as he drew an elaborate symbol on the ground. A great fiery bird erupted from it, clawing the professor with talon and flame. Black blood spurted from wherever the bird's talons struck, spattering everything in the room. Stunned, the professor seemed to lose focus, and the tendrils holding Kyra fast evaporated. She gasped as the attack on her mind ceased, then, grasping her wand, steeled herself for a spell of her own.

She lifted her arm with a determined cry. Grasping at the forces which still whispered to her, twisting their energy to her will. She leveled her wand at the professor, letting loose a great arc of black lightning. It struck the creature directly, engulfing him in a flash of blinding light. As it faded, the professor staggered and fell, dead.

Kyra stumbled forward, hit by a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea.

"Kyra?" Hunter stepped forward to steady her, but she fell to her knees.

"I… I think I." The attack on her mind left her feeling weak and numb. The room seemed to spin as she swooned to one side. Men in blue appeared at the doorway, the Marleybone officers. They shouted exclamations, but the sound was so muffled she could barely make out the words. A shrill cry pierced the air. Was that a baby she heard? Before she could investigate further, Kyra leaned forward, vomited, and passed out.

The pink light of dawn was peeking over the horizon as Kyra awoke, her head pounding. She found herself stretched out on the grass outside the manor. Something soft supported her head. Turning, she identified it as Hunter's outer uniform jacket. Commotion echoed all around as men in blue bustled in and out of the manor. A few officers were setting up a perimeter, stretching tape across the front lawn as curious neighbors came to see what all the noise was about. She could see Hunter, speaking with Deputy Malone and a Sheriff near the front door of the manor. Seeing her awaken, Hunter exchanged a few more words before he came to kneel beside her.

"How to you feel?" He asked.

"Simply peachy, Sir." She muttered halfheartedly through the throbbing pain in her temples. She tried weakly to sit up, but Hunter put a hand out to stop her.

"Take it easy, soldier. The creature that possessed the professor tried to possess you too. Fortunately for you it seems that your resistance was better than our dear professor, but it seems to have given you one hell of a migraine."

"Then the professor and his wife are…"

"Unfortunately they are both dead. I've got reinforcements on the way to collect the bodies, including a life wizard who should be able to fix you up."

Kyra thought for a moment, staving off the fogginess that still clouded her mind, then asked "didn't you say there were two children living with the professor?"

"Ah, indeed I did. We found them both hidden away in a nursery at the top floor." A few moments later, two officers came from the manor, one carrying a small toddler, the other holding a bundle of blankets that appeared to carry an infant.

"A two year old boy and a baby girl, Alexander and Cecelia Dawn, it's a shame really." Hunter lamented, shaking his head.

"What are our plans for them?" Kyra inquired, trying not to think too hard about the two children, their mother lying face down in a pool of her own blood.

"We are attempting to contact other family members, but most likely they'll end up in a local orphanage. We'll monitor them closely either way. With two necromancers for parents, they're bound to be wizards themselves, but only time will tell us that."

The baby girl began to wail, sticking two tiny pink hands up through the blankets. Her brother looked around with enormous dark eyes at the sea of strangers surrounding him, a mass of jet black hair hanging in his face. Their life of privilege and comfort was gone in a single night.

"There must be something more we can do for them." Kyra felt oddly responsible for the two children. If only they had reached the manor in time.

Hunter stood, turning away from her.

"There are a lot of orphans in the spiral, private. Unfortunately, we can't provide for them all. We will ensure the safety of these two, but the rest is up to them. Give it some time."


	2. The Children

"Quick Xander, Help me grab it!"

Cecil Dawn chased a tiny brown blur around the bunk-room of the Regents square orphanage. Her brother, who lounged on a bed nearby, barely looked up from the book he was reading.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted that thing in here so badly. Well now you got it in, congratulations." Xander rolled his eyes and turned a page.

The tiny brown blur was in fact, an urban beast. Small and squirrel like, with leathery wings, the scavengers were generally regarded as bothersome pests throughout the whole of Marleybone. Cecil, on the other hand, found the mischievous furry creatures to be rather cute, and had been trying for several weeks to lure one in through the window using scraps of food. Having finally succeeded however, she now faced the problem of containing the tiny creature, which tore across the room in a blaze of panic.

"He doesn't know I'm his friend yet!" Cecil cried exasperatedly, scrambling under a desk that the beast had taken refuge beneath. After a moment of squabbling and desk banging, she emerged, the tiny squirming beast chattering furiously from her vice-like arms. She then dragged the creature towards her bunk, coaxing and pleading all the way.

"It's okay! I won't hurt you… promise! I'm going to feed you, and take care of you, and- ow! Stop biting me! You're going to be my pet!" With some difficulty, she managed to stuff the creature into the wooden trunk at the foot of her bed. Slamming the cover shut, she sat on the top, and turned to grin sheepishly at her brother.

"He needs some time to calm down." The beast continued to flail wildly from within, thumping against the sides of the trunk in a fruitless attempt to escape.

"And your method of calming includes suffocation?" Her brother inquired, peering over at the sealed wooden box.

Cecil's eyes widened as she considered her brother's statement, and she quickly moved to reopen to trunk, stopping only when heavy footsteps were heard on the stairs leading up to the bunkroom. She then sat promptly back on top of the trunk, and did her very best to look casual.

"What in the spiral is all that racket?" Mr. Sweeny, head of the orphanage, poked his head inside the bunkroom. He was a rather proud Biped Dog, with cropped ears and a long muzzle which sported a set of gold rimmed glasses. His grey fur was just as well-groomed as his orphanage, which he endeavored to keep spotless at all times.

"Nothing Mr. Sweeny, I was just playing is all." Cecil fixed him with her best brown eyed stare of innocence. Mr. Sweeny looked unimpressed.

"Well keep it down, would you? There are other children downstairs trying to-" He was cut off abruptly as the urban beast resumed flailing wildly against the sides of the trunk.

"Spirits, child! What have you got in there?" Mr. Sweeny exclaimed, walking briskly towards the trunk.

"Nothing Mr. Sweeny! I was just kicking the side of the trunk!" Cecil thumped her legs against the side to demonstrate, but Mr. Sweeny was not one to be so easily fooled. Grabbing her roughly by the arm, he pushed her aside and undid the latch to the trunk.

"Mr. Sweeny, don't!" Cecil warned, but it was too late. The moment he opened the trunk, the tiny beast within launched itself into his face, sending his glasses flying as he cried out in surprise. Furious, he snatched the beast out of the air, ignoring its loud chattering protests, and turned to face Cecil.

"What," he cried angrily "possessed you to bring such a filthy pest like this into my orphanage?"

"I'm sorry! I just thought that maybe … he could be a pet." Cecil looked down at the floor, shame faced.

Mr. Sweeny dragged the tiny creature towards the window, swearing under his breath as it clamped its teeth down on his wrist.

"Wild animals are not toys, Cecil! You can't be dragging such things in here; we have no idea where it's been!" With one hand, he threw the tiny creature at the window, and slammed it shut with the other. Unfortunately for the beast, his timing was poor, and he accidentally slammed one of its fragile wings in between the window and the sill. It let out a piercing screech and flailed wildly in a panicked attempt to free itself.

Cecil wailed in dismay, running to the window and throwing it open, sending the broken winged beast tumbling two stories to the cobblestone ground below.

"Come back!" She cried helplessly, sticking both arms out the window. The beast meanwhile picked itself up, and scampered into the nearest alley way, dragging a torn and bloody wing behind it. Mr. Sweeney grabbed Cecil roughly by the shoulders and dragged her away from the window.

"You've killed him!" she wailed, pointing a condemning finger at Mr. Sweeny. "How is he going to live with only one wing!?"

"Don't you dare use that tone with me! I swear Cecil, if you pull another stunt like this one more time I'll-"

Whatever Mr. Sweeny was going to say was lost as Cecil broke free from his grip and sprinted down the stairs, crying all the way.

"Cecilia!" He shouted after her, but she was already gone.

Mr. Sweeny closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before going to pick up his glasses from where they had been knocked to the ground. He then sat at the foot of Xander's bed, examining the bite mark on his wrist that the beast had left.

"What am I going to do with that sister of yours, Xander?" He asked exasperatedly.

Xander closed the book he had been reading. "Well sir, I hear the O' Leary's are recruiting young."

Mr. Sweeny smirked "You're a clever boy, Xander. That almost sounds tempting."

"But then what would it do to your fantastic reputation if your Orphans started going on to become thieves and gangsters?"

"There is always that, I suppose."

Moments later a young Biped woman, Miss Abigail Williams, one of the orphanage volunteers poked her head into the room, her small pointed muzzle agape with concern.

"Mr. Sweeny, is there any particular reason that young Cecil just charged out the door in a fit of tears?"

Mr. Sweeny waved the question off with a flick of his hand, "Don't worry about it Abigail, children are prone to such things. She'll be back when she tires of it."

"I wouldn't underestimate my sister, Mr. Sweeney." Xander pitched in, reopening his book.

"Aye!" Abigail said. "You remember the great stray cat incident from last year? We almost called the police!"

"That girl can take care of herself now I tell you!" Mr. Sweeny exclaimed. "And I daresay she's been sneaking around enough to know her way around the city. In any case, I'd say we all know exactly where she is headed."

"Uncle Julian's." Xander confirmed. Julian Dawn was the brother the children's late father, and the only family that the children still had living in Marleybone. He may have taken the children himself, had it not been for the fact that the man was blind. Even so, that didn't stop Cecilia from running to him for refuge any time events at the orphanage became too overwhelming.

Mr. Sweeny stood up with a sigh.

"I suppose I had better give him a call then."

"Don't worry about it Mr. Sweeny." Xander said, standing "I'll go over there myself. I've got some books of his to return, anyway." He scooped up a pile of books that had been accumulating next to his bunk.

"You see here Abigail? This one's a keeper! Twelve years old and I swear he's got more sense than half the people I hire."

"Well Mr. Sweeny, I may just take offense to that!" Miss Abigail folded her arms, a wry smile spreading across her face.

"Aw Abigail, you know I don't mean you. Xander, I want you home well before dark, you know the O'Leary's have been kicking up trouble round' here lately."

"Yes-sir," Xander called over his shoulder as he left the room, a stack of books teetering precariously in his arms.

"Aww gee Cecil, what did you do?" Xander opened the door of his uncle's house to see Cecil sitting on a chair inside the parlor, the same urban beast from before now wrapped in a towel on her lap.

"I saved um'." She replied coyly, poking at the bundle on her lap, which twitched faintly in response.

"Just what do you plan on doing with it? You know there no way Mr. Sweeny will let you bring it back." Xander closed the door with his heel before going to set the stack of books down on a nearby table.

"He's not an it. His name is Diesel, and Uncle Julian's gonna help him get better, right uncle?" moments later, the children's uncle entered the room. He looked much like an older version of Xander himself, With the exception of his eyes which were a glassy grey instead of the trademark Dawn brown.

"Anything for my favorite niece Cecil," He turned vaguely In Xander's direction "Xander! You're looking older every time I see you!"

"You're blind, uncle." Xander commented, cocking his head to the side.

"It was a joke. Come sit, I was just about to help your sister with her new friend." Julian sat on the chair next to Cecil reaching out for the bundle, which Cecil placed promptly in his lap.

"Cecil, you know where I keep the medical supplies in the lavatory, go get me some cotton, alcohol, and bandages." Julian unfolded the blood spotted towel wrapped around the small beast as Cecil darted off to gather the supplies. Meanwhile, Xander sat on the couch across from his uncle.

"It's quite a shame; the window severed this little guy's entire wing. Your father was the one with all the magical talents, the most I can do here is clean up the wound and make him feel a little more comfortable." The beast flinched and squeaked as Julian prodded his bloody stump of a wing.

"Xander, my wand is in the box on the shelf next to you. Grab it for me would you? I don't want him awake while I clean the wound, he's stressed enough as it is."

Xander retrieved the wand from its box and handed it to his uncle, who held the tip against the little creatures head. There was a tiny flash of light as the beast went limp, its rapid breathing slowing to a steady pace.

"What did you do?" Xander asked, examining the wand with fascination as Julian handed it back to him.

"I just told his body to sleep. It's not a particularly powerful spell coming from me; it would barely make you drowsy if I tried it on you. It is however useful for small things."

"Would I be able to do it?" Xander asked.

"Perhaps. Magical talent usually begins to manifest right around your age. If you did inherit the family powers, you would be showing signs very soon."

"You mean like hearing the voices?"

"If by 'hearing the voices' you mean a wizards ability to listen into the void, then yes, it is one of the signs. Where did you hear of this?" Julian straightened up in his chair, staring intently at Xander's direction.

"I read about it in one of your books." Xander began, "and, well, sometimes when it's very quiet I think I can hear them, the whispering. I can't really make out what they say, but the voices are there."

A broad grin spread across Julian's face.

"Well of course you can't understand them! Only the strongest of wizards can interpret the voices, and even then only after centuries of practice! You should have told me about this earlier, Xander. I'll have to send for a mage to come from the city to test you for mana potency. That's how you'll know for sure."

At that moment, Cecil came darting back into the parlor, carrying an armful of supplies. She looked nervously at the Beast's limp form.

"Is he dead, Uncle?" She asked, placing the supplies on the coffee table in the center of the room.

"No Cecil, I just put him to sleep is all. Soak the cotton in alcohol and hand it over here would you?"

Cecil obliged, placing the wet cotton in Julian's hand before going to sit on the couch next to her brother. Julian set about disinfecting the wound with surprising dexterity for one who lacked the use of his eyes. After a few moments of silence, Xander turned to his sister.

"Hey Cecil, remember the voices I was telling you about? I might be a wizard!"

Cecil burst into laughter,

"Hearing voices doesn't make you a wizard, dummy, it makes you crazy! You're crazier than Katzenstein!"

"It's true though, Uncle Julian said so. It's just like the books said." Xander gave is sister a smug grin.

"You and your stupid books Xander, you think they make you so smart! Uncle, tell Xander how crazy he his!"

"Your brother may actually be right, Cecil. Wizards gain the ability to tap into the void right around his age. With time, training, and mana, they can even be taught to harness its energy. Hand me a bandage roll, would you?"

"If Xander is going to be a wizard, does that mean I'll be a wizard too?" Cecil asked, handing over the roll.

"There is a strong chance. Magical blood runs deep in our family, though you father took most of the talent for himself when the two of us were born. He actually hogged a lot of things for himself," Julian gestured to his eyes with a smirk, "Your mother wasn't so bad herself. Top of her class at Dragonspyre academy, took all the high honors."

"If they were so much more talented, then why are you the only one left alive?" Xander asked.

Julian's face sobered as he wound the bandage around the stump of the beast's wing. A moment of silence permeated the conversation, and the room suddenly felt colder as the subject darkened.

"Magic can be a very dangerous thing. There are rules, lines drawn to protect us. But your father was never one to follow rules. He crossed a line he couldn't come back from…" He trailed off.

The three sat in an awkward silence for a few more moments, before Cecil jumped to her feet.

"But that's all sad, and I don't like being sad, so we should focus on the happy things! Like how I just saved Diesel's life!" She skipped over to Julian, who gently passed her the now cleaned and bandaged creature.

"He wouldn't need saving if you hadn't caught him in the first place." Xander pointed out, rolling his eyes.

"Nobody asked for your input, Xander." Cecil glowered at her brother.

Julian stood, chuckling at the two children.

"I don't know where you two got so smart for your age, but it's almost unnerving. Come on, I'll make you both lunch."


	3. The Visitor

Several weeks past for the two children without too much further incident. Little Diesel stayed with Julian to recover, which left Cecil dragging her brother across regents square every day to visit. Not that Xander minded, really. Julian knew more about magic than anyone else the boy knew, though he always claimed that his talents with magic were sorely lacking. Still, he helped Xander study, and soon he could name the seven schools of magic, their respective strengths and weaknesses, and the basic spells associated with them. Meanwhile, Cecil would work on training her 'pet.' Despite the circumstances of their first meeting, Diesel had taken a surprising liking to the girl, most likely due to the fact that she was his main source of food. Already he had learned to come to the sound of his name.

Nethertheless, the children were still wards of the orphanage, which left them spending more time than they would have liked within its walls, being homeschooled in the more basic talents of reading and basic arithmetic. Ever the willful child, Cecil opposed this more vehemently than ever, claiming such conventional schooling was now below her.

"I've had it with all this math!" Cecil cried, dropping her arithmetic book unceremoniously off the side of her bed. "It's stupid, if we're going to be wizards one day, then how is this going to help us? What's long division got to do with being a wizard?"

"Shut up Cecil, I'm trying to focus." Xander sat across the room on his own bunk, a swirl of whispers around him. Every day they seemed to get louder, though they were very easy to block out if need be. Try as he might, it was still impossible for him to make out what they were saying.

"Easy for you to say, you finished all your work an hour ago!"

"Maybe if you stopped griping for five minutes, you would be able to finish too!" Xander exclaimed as his focus dissipated and the voices vanished.

"Well, I want to go to Uncle Julian's. Mr. Sweeny, can we go to Julian's now!?" Cecil shouted down the stairs.

"Did you finish your work yet?" Came the faint reply.

"Yes!" Cecil lied back.

"Are you lying?"

"No!"

"Yes she is!" Xander pitched in.

"Xander!" Cecil cried, leaping off her bed and tackling her brother. The two rolled onto the floor in a heap. Xander got his sister into half a choke hold before she clamped down on his arm with her teeth.

"Ow! No biting, carnivore!" Xander shoved Cecil off and bolted for the stairs, his sister close behind. As he reached the base of the stairs, Cecil leapt on him from five steps up, sending them crashing onto the floor as the other children of the orphanage (mostly biped dogs and cats, with a couple interspersed humans) looked on in shock.

"All right, all right!" Mr. Sweeny shouted, stepping in and pulling the two apart.

"If the two of you want to act like animals you can do it outside! Cecil, your homework is going to get done whether you want to do it or not, so expect to buckle down when you get back!" He dragged the two towards the door, throwing them both outside onto the front steps of the orphanage.

"Come back when you decide to be civilized!" was the last thing they heard before the door slammed shut.

The two children sat on the steps panting for a brief moment before they both burst into laughter.

"Cecil," Xander exclaimed when he caught his breath, "You find the strangest ways to get out of work." He stood, pulling his sister to her feet.

"It's a talent. Come on; ill race you to Julian's." Cecil sprinted down the steps without warning.

"Cheater!" Xander shouted, taking off after her.

It only took the two siblings three minutes to race to their Uncle's. Xander won, though Cecil called it a fowl since he was two years older, and had an unfair advantage. Xander countered that Cecil's head start negated all such things, and that she was simply a sore loser. They argued all the way up the steps to Julian's door. Xander reached for the door handle but was surprised when it opened first, revealing Julian in the doorway, a look of barely contained amusement on his face.

"You know, I could hear the two of you shouting all the way up the street."

"Sorry Uncle." Xander grinned sheepishly.

"Nonsense! Children should be boisterous and active, enjoy it while you can. In any case, come in, I have someone here for you both to meet."

The two children followed their uncle into the parlor. A rather intense looking man was seated at the couch, wearing a silver and black uniform that Xander recognized immediately as a Wizard City Corps uniform. His piercing eyes and hooked nose reminded Xander vaguely of a hawk. Diesel, who was curled in his lap, sprang to his feet as Cecil walked in the room and darted across the room to sit on her shoulder.

"An interesting choice of pet." The stranger commented, looking over them both.

"You two are the Dawn children, I assume?"

"You're a Wizard, aren't you?" Xander asked.

"Very observant. I am Commander Rohan Hunter of the Wizard City Corps. You must be Alexander Dawn, am I correct?" Commander Hunter stood, shaking the boy's hand.

"Yeah, but no one ever calls him Alexander, Except for Mr. Sweeny when he's in trouble. Everyone else just calls him Xander." Cecil piped in, earning herself a glare from her brother. Hunter turned to look at her.

"Then you must be Cecilia Dawn."

"That's me! Except everyone just calls me Cecil, Pleased to meet you Mr. Hunter."

"Commander Hunter." Xander corrected.

"It is no matter; titles and ranks will come in time. The senior enchanters of Ravenwood have been most interested in your progress. Particularly you, young Alexander." The commander examined the boy with his piercing eyes. Xander, now feeling rather starstruck, shifted anxiously under his gaze and looked to Julian for help.

As if sensing his discomfort, Julian put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Tell the commander what you've told me." He encouraged.

Xander straightened up and turned to face the man.

"I… I've been experiencing strange things lately. Whispers in my head, vivid dreams… it's like they're trying to talk to me but I can't understand them, I can't hear them at all unless I focus." The commander nodded to himself as Xander tried to describe the strange things that had been clouding his mind.

"Yes, that is how it typically begins. You're about the right age for it too. But whether this is just the mind of a very imaginative child or real magical talent can only be tested one way." Hunter turned to regard Julian.

"Mr. Dawn, if you would please?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Come on Cecil, you and I are going for a walk." Julian grabbed Cecil by the arm and pulled her towards the door.

"But Uncle!" Cecil complained, unwilling to miss out on this sudden new development.

"Fine, fine, stay. But I'm going for a walk, and who knows what I'll run into without someone to guide me." He threw the door open and stumbled down the steps, flailing his arms in an over exaggerated attempt to get his bearings. Cecil groaned in frustration and made for the door, jabbing her brother in the arm as she passed him.

"Tell me everything." she said before running out after Julian, slamming the door behind her, Little Diesel still clinging to her shoulder.


	4. Your Father's Son

"So, young Alexander" Commander Hunter began, taking his place on the couch and motioning for Xander to sit in the chair across from him.

"Just how much do know about what it means to be a wizard?"

"I…" Xander was unsure of how to begin. "I know there are seven classifications, they make up the seven different schools at the academies. Usually a wizard has the aptitude for one class in particular." The commander nodded to himself as Xander spoke.

"Very true, do you know what the names of these classifications are?"

"Ah, well there's Necromancy, Theuragy, Conjury, Thaumaturgy, Pyromancy, and Divination. Oh! And Sorcery, that's balance, it ties them all together."

"That's very good Alexander, I'm impressed. You've memorized all the official classifications, not just the school names. Now, you know that wizards tend to have an aptitude for one school, do you know how that aptitude is determined?"

Xander briefly noted to himself that there was something very calculated in the way the commander was positioned. Almost predatory. He leaned languidly against the back of the couch, fingers interlaced in front of him and head cocked slightly to the side. He smiled politely, but there was something else behind the expression that the boy couldn't quite read. It occurred to Xander that this was a man who could obliterate him on the spot with a mere flick of his wrist. An uncomfortable thought, but then, the commander was there to help him, right? Xander pushed the thought from his mind and turned his attention back to the question at hand.

"It's usually hereditary; talent tends to run through bloodlines. But that isn't always the case. I… don't know how you would tell otherwise."

"There are ways. But let's assume for a moment that you are in fact a wizard. A necromancer, if this hereditary tendency you speak of proves true. What happens then?"

Xander had been thinking about this question quite a bit over the past few months. The answer was clear; He would be required to attend an academy, perhaps Ravenwood like his father, or Dragonspyre like his mother. Traveling to a far off land to study magic had always seemed exhilarating, and he had been more than eager about the idea for quite some time. But suddenly reality was staring him down in the face of this strange man. If he really was a wizard, that would mean leaving everything he knew. Uncle Julian, the orphanage, even his kid sister, at least for a time. The prospect was exciting, but also terrifying.

"I suppose I would have to go to an academy to study, one like Ravenwood? That's where my father went."

The commander smirked at the question. "Ravenwood is the flagship of all magical academies. Only children with the greatest of potential are given the privilege of attending. Xavier Dawn was among the best of the best in the field of Necromancy. Do you really think you have the raw talent that it takes?"

Xander looked down at the floor, slightly embarrassed.

"I don't know."

"I don't really think so." The commander casually reached for his side, where his wand lay in its sheath. Xander looked up sharply in alarm.

"There is a certain personality type that it takes to be a wizard. Unfortunately I don't think you have it." He pulled his wand from its sheath in one fluid motion and leveled it at the boy. The air around them burned with a sudden heat. Xander's breath caught in his throat. What was happening?

"I've seen this many times before. Your curious nature, that thirst for knowledge, is only going to make you a beacon for spirits. They will overtake you before you can learn to harness them. That makes you a danger to others. In light of what happened to your father, well, unfortunately we can't risk that."

Xander bolted to his feet, bewildered. It didn't make any sense to him. How were wizards supposed to learn without that curious nature? The commander brandished his wand, drawing a strange fiery symbol that Xander didn't recognize. Flames erupted from the floor in front of him, twisting and condensing until two fiery dogs materialized. They snarled and snapped at Xander with razor sharp teeth. All thoughts dissipated into fear as Xander slowly stepped backwards. He turned to run, but one of the fiery hounds was faster, leaping onto his chest and sending him careening into the floor. Xander tried to push him off, but succeeded only in scorching his hands against the burning skin of the creature. He cried out in pain, looking desperately towards the commander. The man simply sat and watched, arms folded, expression unreadable.

The second hound leapt at him as well, taking a hold of one of his legs with its pointed teeth. Xander screamed and kicked it squarely in the jaw with his free leg, sending it back with a whimper. The first was still on his chest, snapping at his throat. He placed his hands against its shoulders, forcing himself to ignore the scorching pain in his hands, and heaved with all his might. The hound slipped off of him with a snarl, and Xander took the opportunity to scramble to his feet. He suddenly remembered the box with his uncle's wand on the shelf. Could it work?

There was no time to think, Xander made for the box, both creatures right behind him. His hands wrapped around the polished wooden handle of the wand just as the hounds braced to jump on him again. He wheeled around and leveled it at the pair. The commander shouted something unintelligible as the hounds sprang at him and Xander let out a primal cry.

It was pure instinct that made him reach out and grasp at the voices with had been whispering to him for months, and pure instinct that allowed him to give them form. An inky blackness exploded from the wand that Xander held, creating a shockwave that sent both the hounds and the commander flying back. Then the blackness took form, twisting and morphing into a cloaked skeletal figure, a wraith. It looked from the hounds, to Xander, and back to the hounds again. The staff it carried then exploded with a brilliant light, and the two hounds gave mortal howls as they curled inwards and crumbled into blackness.

Its purpose fulfilled, the wraith turned back to Xander and it too disintegrated, dissolving into tiny filaments of light which surrounded him and healed his burns before finally disappearing altogether.

Xander suddenly felt very drained as his scattered thoughts returned. The wand slipped through his weakened fingers and clattered to the ground.

"Well." The commander said wistfully, staggering to his feet "I suppose there is a first for everything."

Remembering that it was the commander who summoned the hounds, Xander took a few trembling steps backwards, Staring at the man incredulously.

"I was never going to kill you, Alexander, this was your test. It seems you have your father in you after all." The commander jumped forward to catch the boy as he finally collapsed.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Xander didn't think he'd been out for long, but it was hard to tell. He groaned, coming to his senses. He looked around in a daze for a moment before his memory returned and he snapped upright from where he had been laying on Julian's couch. Commander Hunter stood a few paces away, examining the wand Xander had wielded.

"Seems I forgot to factor in the wand, your resourcefulness in the face of death is rather commendable, young wizard."

"You attacked me!" Xander blanched.

"Of course I did. Wielding Magic is very much an instinctive art. To get children to unlock their potential, it is often necessary to put them in a desperate scenario. Most will summon a spark of fire or a blast of cold air; all they are capable of without the aid of a wand or staff. But you-" the commander held the wand out in front of him.

"Summoning a creature as powerful as a wraith at your age is unheard of. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself in the attempt."

"I... I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. It just sort of happened." Xander rubbed his aching temples, still trying to process what he'd done.

"Don't apologize; it was an extraordinary feat on your part. The miscalculation was mine." The Commander smiled to himself "A wraith, the senior enchanters will never believe me, you know? You certainly are the son of Xavier Dawn."


	5. Death, the Equalizer

"How come Xander gets to talk to big important people? Just because he's older and hears voices and stuff. I'm special too."

"You are very special, Cecil. Magic powers don't make you that way."

"But it's not fair!" Cecil complained. She balanced precariously on the sidewalk curb, arms out to keep her balance as she and Julian made their way down the street. Diesel still perched on her shoulder, nibbling at her hair. The sun was low in the sky, just threatening to dip below the buildings.

"My dear Cecil, if life was fair, I'd be able to gaze upon the source of whatever it is causing the constant stench in our fair city. Alas I must be content to sniff and wonder."

"I think it's all the smoke stacks, Uncle. Don't worry, they're not very pretty."

"Aye, but I'll never see that for myself. Does that make you any better than me?" Julian pulled a pocket watch out of his vest, stared at it fruitlessly for a moment, then put it back.

"Naw, you can still do cool stuff, like magic." Diesel began chewing on Cecil's ear. She flinched and batted him away. He leapt onto Julian's shoulder.

"Little magic. Party tricks really. Your father could call fourth legions of dead. Does that make him better than me?" Julian absentmindedly scratched the furry little creature behind the ears.

"How should I know?" Cecil muttered, guiding Julian around a corner "He's dead."

"Ah, death, the great equalizer. All the magic in the world won't help you if you're an egotistical wind bag."

"Is that what my father was?" Cecil wasn't sure what that meant but it didn't sound nice.

"Sorry Cecil, I shouldn't talk like that with you. But you're a bright kid so I won't lie." Julian knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Magic is a very special gift and not many people have it. When you have a gift like that, it can make you feel like you're above the rest. Many Wizards think that way, and they pay for it. Because ultimately they're not so different from regular people. You can't rely on just your magical powers to get you through, you must hone your mind to control it. Your mind, my dear, is what will really set you apart."

"But what good will my mind be if I don't have powers to use it with? What if I never become a Wizard?"

"Cecil, I'd bet my right eye that you'll start showing signs just like your brother. And if not, you're still my special niece. You could have wizards kneeling at your feet if you put your mind to it."

"Even Xander? He never does what I say and he's not even a real wizard yet." Cecil grinned at the idea of bossing around her know-it-all brother.

Julian rolled his eyes and stood up. "Not in the way you're imagining."

The droning hum of propellers caught their attention as an airship flew low overhead. Cecil watched its silhouette in the darkening sky. Diesel chirped and flapped his one good wing as it flew out of sight behind the buildings.

"Are those propellers I hear? Goodness, did we walk all the way to the station? Not the best idea to be out here so late." Julian turned and began walking the way they'd come. Cecil jumped after him, grabbing his hand before he walked into a lamp post.


	6. Hero of Old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't figure out how to get italics to work. It bothers me, but I guess I can get around it.

"You thought you could just tuck yer tail and run, didn't you? Coward."

"Stay away from me!"

The streetlights had just flickered on when a scrawny biped cat scrambled out from an alleyway across the street. Cecil and Julian stopped short. They were just a few blocks from home. Diesel flattened his ears and tucked himself under Cecil's arm as a half dozen imposing biped cats emerged from the alley to surround the first. O'Learys. Cecil grabbed onto the end of Julian's coat when she saw they all had guns.

"What do you want from me? I ain't snitched or anything!" The scrawny biped spun in a panic, his patchy orange fur bristled with fear.

"Really?" One of the larger bipeds pushed him roughly to his knees, "Because rumor has it that a certain orange wanker told the fuzz about the drop last week."

Julian put a hand on Cecil's shoulder.

"Cecil, how many of them are there?"

"Six, uncle. They all have guns. Are they going to hurt that guy?"

One of the bipeds looked across the street to where Cecil and Julian stood.

"Oi! If you know what's good for ya', you'll forget what you saw here and keep walking!" He shouted.

"P-please," The scrawny biped stammered as one of the thugs put a gun to his head.

"I never said nothing, I don't want to die!"

"Cecil stay back." Julian's jaw was set in a hard line. He pushed her back behind him.

He stood still for a moment, his hands trembling slightly. His brow furrowed intently and the space around them seemed to grow darker. And then, all at once his demeanor relaxed, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a sly smile. He strode confidently in the direction of the group, hands placed casually in his pockets. Cecil wanted to call after him, wanted to run forward and stop him, but her legs stood frozen in place. Diesel's tiny claws stuck painfully under her shirt.

"Hey!" the largest of the bipeds shouted, they'd all turned their attention to the approaching human. "We told you to get lost."

"Gentlemen, please." Julian said calmly, taking his hands out of his pockets and raising them in a non-threatening gesture, "What seems to be the problem over here? You're making a terrible amount of racket for such a lovely night."

"Julian…" Cecil meant it to be a shout, but it came out as a plaintive whimper. A young looking biped brandished a gun. He couldn't have been older than a teenager.

"You deaf or somthin'? Cuz if you don't stop right there I'll blast a hole through that smug little grin."

"Deaf?" Julian laughed "There are many things wrong with me, friend, but hearing isn't one of them. You seem to really have it in for your little friend there."

The scrawny victim looked from the other bipeds to Julian, his mouth agape.

"I'm gonna start counting." The biped with the gun said, "You and your little twerp better be gone by one."

"Now, now, how about we talk about this for a bit? This is hardly the place for blood."

"Five."

"It's a residential area, so many prying eyes."

"Four."

"Surely somebody's called the authorities, they could be here any moment."

"Three."

"My goodness, you're really serious about this aren't you?

"Two."

"Tell me, friend, have you ever heard of the great wizard Xavier Dawn?"

"One."

"Wait." The bigger biped said, catching on, "You mean the big wig that died years ago? What about em?"

"I happen to be his twin brother," Julian snapped his fingers, producing a shower of silver sparks, "pleased to meet you."

"It's a wizard, Shit." Several of the bipeds staggered backwards. To Cecil's surprise, the scrawny one that they'd been after scooted back too, his face fixed on Julian with terror. How could he be afraid of Julian? He was trying to rescue him.

"He ain't worth it, come on!" The large biped said, retreating swiftly towards the shadows. Most of the others followed, all but the young one with the gun pointed at Julian.

"Never met any wizards before. But I heard he got himself killed, couldn't have been all that tough. I don't think you're that tough either." He took a step forward.

"Oh believe me, he was quite the prima donna." Julian waved his hand dismissively, "Character aside, unless you also happen to be a wizard, this might be one fight you want to sit out."

"I think yer bluffin'." The biped hissed, taking another step, his gun just inches away from Julian's chest.

"Do you now?" Julian stepped forward so that the muzzle of the gun pressed against his shirt. His grey eyes seemed to darken intently. The biped snarled and shuffled back, Julian pressed forward.

"If you think I'm bluffing, then shoot."

"I will!" The biped warned. "The O'learys don't take kindly to those that get in our way."

"Do it."

They stared each other down for a moment. At least the biped did, Julian's eyes were focused some inches above his opponent's head. The biped's hands began to shake violently. He glanced backwards desperately at his companions, unwilling to give up his ground, but they made no move to help him.

"Get out of here! This ain't even any of yer business!" The biped screamed, frustrated. There was terror in his voice. His finger trembled on the trigger.

"This," Julian said, gesturing in the direction of the horrified biped who still cowered on the ground, "is always a wizards business. Go on now, you're friends are leaving you."

Xander had read Cecil stories like this before. Valiant wizards coming to the rescue. Always fearless, always invincible. Julian looked in that moment like a hero of old, facing down the terrified enemy. The stories all ended the same. The foe defeated, the victims saved, the wizard triumphant. A chill ran down her spine as she watched her uncle in awe, and for a moment, she too forgot her fear.

But this was not a story of old.

She would never know if the young biped pulled the trigger deliberately, or if his trembling fingers set it off. All she saw was the flash, followed by what sounded like a clap of thunder. And then Julian staggered backwards, clutching his chest. He turned slowly towards her direction, a dark stain spreading along his shirt. And then he was on his knees. And then… Cecil's legs were still frozen. Why wouldn't they move? Why couldn't she do anything? She had to move. Had to do… something. What was happening? Diesel shifted, sensing her fear. His little claws dug deeper into her skin, and the sensation of pain finally broke her free.

"Julian!" She screamed, bolting to his side just as his head hit the cobblestone. The young biped with the gun stared in horror, smoke wafting lazily from his weapon. The original scrawny victim took advantage of the distraction and took off across the street. Julian lay on his side, one hand pressed tight against his chest. Blood ebbed out between his fingers, dripping steadily onto the cobblestone in a growing pool.

"Julian!" Cecil cried again, shaking him by the shoulder. "Get up! You're okay, tell me what to do." He was okay. He had to be okay.

Julian blinked, disoriented, then forced a painful smile.

"I swear it's a family gene." He said weakly "Always poking our noses where they don't belong. Xavier always said my shield wouldn't even stop a bullet."

"…What?" Cecil paused, not understanding, then tried to pull him upright, "Get up! Please uncle!"

His eyes flicked briefly in her direction, and he reached towards her with a bloodied hand.

"Cecilia…" It sounded like he had more to say, but his hand went limp and his eyes became still.

"I… I killed him." The young biped said with a quavering voice, looking in disbelief at his weapon. He looked back towards his comrades in the alleyway. "I killed him." He said again.

"Yeah, you killed em', buddy. Lovely," The large biped hissed sarcastically from the shadows, "Now let's get the hell outta here before the fuzz show up."

Cecil shook her uncle again. Killed him? No, they couldn't have killed him. He wasn't dead. What did that even mean? And the ground, why was it so sticky? She began to tremble. Blood trickled down the lines in the cobblestone under her hands. Someone would help them. Someone would come. Someone had to make it all better. She looked around. The streets were empty save the bipeds in the alleyway. She thought she could make out silhouettes in nearby windows, but it was hard to tell. She just needed someone. Anyone.

"Somebody help me!" she shrieked, her voice reverberating down the empty streets.

Nobody came.

She was alone.

Suddenly Cecil doubled over in pain. It was as if someone split her head with an axe. And the previous silence of the empty streets was suddenly filled with a cacophony of voices. They wailed and whispered to her with a thousand promises. One in particular stood apart. It pressed against her consciousness like a heavy weight, and she felt herself slipping.

'I can help, child. Give me form, and we will end this cruelty. We will destroy your enemies.'

"What…" She gasped, gripping the blood-wet cobblestones as the world seemed to spin around her.

'Just let go…'

The voice, the consciousness, it pressed against her body. It wanted to use her, to move her hands for her, to… control her.

'Why do you struggle? Let go, and let me take all of your troubles away.'

Cecil didn't know what it was, where it had come from. But it promised to help, promised to fix it all. If she let go, could it fix Julian? Make the bipeds go away?

"Hey!" The young biped said, shuffling backwards, "what's the kid doing? Why's she glowing?"

'…Let go'

Cecil looked at Julian's still body. He was almost unrecognizable. Pale and lifeless. Tears were streaming down her face, dripping onto the blood soaked cobblestone below. This had to end. It was all going to end. And she was going to make sure of it.

Closing her eyes, Cecil surrendered and let the strange being wash over her.


	8. Asunder

Power.

Cecil had never felt power like this before. The air around her swirled with a crimson glow. She still trembled. Not with fear, but with fury. How dare anyone move against her? How dare anyone bring harm to the ones she loved? She would burn them all. She would make them suffer. She would tear the entire street apart piece by piece. She would devour those who cowered behind the building walls and let her tragedy come to pass. She would-

'What's happening? This isn't me!'

'This is our power. Yours and mine. Now that you've let me in, we will destroy your enemies.'

The young biped still stood frozen, too terrified to move. Cecil reached for him with a feral snarl. He started screaming when his fur burnt away and his skin peeled from his body in charred strips. He collapsed on the ground in a heap of exposed muscle and bone. The other O'learys had finally decided that this was enough and took off sprinting down the alleyway without him. It didn't matter. Cecil could feel the life energy from her first victim strengthening and invigorating her. It was too late for all of them. She was going to rend them asunder.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"What was that?"

The ground began to tremble under Xander's feet. The walls of Julian's house creaked and moaned. Across the room, a glass tipped off the edge of a table and shattered onto the floor. Commander Hunter was already on his feet, as if he'd sensed the tremor before it began.

"Is this an earthquake?" Xander asked excitedly.

"No." Commander Hunter strode to the window, "Something's wrong."

Xander followed him warily. He still didn't quite trust the man in light of what had just happened. But all that was forgotten when he looked out the window. Just visible over the rooftops was what appeared to be an expanding ball of crimson smoke. It flashed and swirled violently like some horrible tornado, stripping shingles and loose bricks. Around the street, confused neighbors poked their heads out the windows, seeking the source of the deafening roar and shaking walls. Xander shuffled backwards. Where was his sister? Where was Julian? Were they caught up in that somehow?

"What is that?" He asked again.

Commander Hunter looked disturbed. And… was that fear Xander saw in his eyes? If it was, it vanished as the Commander shook his head and steeled himself.

"That is magic. Very powerful, very forbidden. I'd dared to hope we might be long done with it. Seems I was wrong."

"My sister and uncle. They… do they have anything to do with that?"

The Commander didn't answer at first. Instead he stared at the Swirling magic, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Could it be?" He murmured to himself.

"Could it be what?" Xander echoed, wringing his hands, "Where is my sister?"

The Commander grabbed Xander roughly by the shoulder and dragged him towards the door.

"If I'm right, then yes, your sister is involved with this. Come, I may need you before this is over."

Xander had to sprint to keep up with the commander. They made their way down the street, which was empty, save for a few people standing on doorsteps. The neighbors stared agape at the glowing monstrosity in the distance. Xander couldn't take his eyes off of it either. What kind of magic could cause that? Julian said he didn't have much power. And surely his sister couldn't be capable of such a thing. Was there another wizard?

As they neared the source of the magic, a tiny creature bolted around the street corner and ran straight for Xander.

"Diesel!" Xander paused as the fur ball scampered up his leg and tucked itself under his chin.

"Where's Cecil?" Xander exclaimed. The little creature squeaked, his tiny chest heaving rapidly in terror.

"Alexander, hurry!" The commander shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner where Diesel had come from. Xander ran after him. As he rounded the corner, he was faced with the source of the magic.

It took him a moment to take it in. Was that… his sister? Crouched in the center of the chaos, magical energy crackling red through the air around her. And next to her, Julian's crumpled frame. Xander's eyes widened with shock when he realized his uncle wasn't moving. Was he okay?

Everything was blown and buffeted by the swirling wind. Xander stumbled as he was nearly thrown off his feet. The buildings around them creaked as loose bricks were torn free and sent up into the swirling void. Diesel crawled down under his shirt. One brick flew straight at Xander's head, too fast for him to dodge. He flinched and lifted his hands instinctively to protect himself, but the brick was deflected by a seemingly invisible barrier that surrounded him. Xander looked to the commander, who already had his wand out, presumably casting the shield.

"This will protect us from debris, but it won't stop that magic. Keep your distance." The commander shouted over the roar of the wind.

"Is she…?" Xander stared at his sister. Impossible.

"She's the source, yes. And she needs to be stopped before she tears the entire street apart."

"How?" Xander asked, flinching as a stone flew at him, shattering against the protective barrier.

"All that energy. She's encased herself in so much mana you can actually see it. I'll have to try and dispel it if we are to reach her." The end of the commander's wand glowed as he manipulated with unseen forces. His face was very grave. Xander got the sense that not even the commander could stand against this.

This… his sister. The little girl who made pets out of street pests and named the spiders who spun webs on the orphanage ceilings. She wasn't capable of this. If he could just get close to her, if he could just talk to her.

Slowly, Xander made his way through the swirling energy towards his sister. The commander shouted at him when he realized what the boy was doing. But when he stepped forward to pull Xander back, a blast of crimson energy sent him flying backwards. Directly in front of Xander, the air stilled, even if it still raged around him. It seemed he was allowed to approach. Carefully, Xander made his way towards his sister, one hand held cautiously in front of him as if he approached a wild animal. She held very still, crouched over, staring at the ground. The wind blew her hair and clothes wildly in all directions. Her eyes were alien, glowing vibrantly and devoid of all their original character. In front of her, Julian still didn't move. His eyes were open but motionless. There was so much blood.

Xander's stomach flipped. Had she? No… she couldn't have.

He reached down to touch her shoulder. She didn't react.

"Cecil, what's happening? How did you-" Xander braced himself as a violent gust of wind threatened to drag him away.

I'll kill them all.

Cecil's mouth hadn't moved, but he heard her voice regardless.

"You'll… what? Cecil, you have to stop this, this isn't you!" Xander spotted what took him a moment to recognize as a body, skinned and burned almost beyond recognition.

"Cecil, the commander is here, I'm here. We want to help you, just don't do this. Please Cecil!" Xander knelt in front of her, gripping her by both shoulders and forcing himself to look into her blank, voided eyes. His own eyes were wet, and it took him a second to realize he was crying. How could all this happen so quickly? Xander didn't even know what 'this' was. But it had to stop. Before anyone else got hurt.

"Just stop this!" Xander screamed. His voice pierced through the deafening roar. And then all at once it became completely, totally silent. The wind died down, dropping a shower of bricks and loose debris onto the ground like rain. The crackling glow that surrounded them like lightning fizzled into nothingness. Finally, his sister's terrifying eyes faded to their normal brown hue. They immediately filled with tears.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed, gripping the cobblestones so tight her fingernails cracked, "I'm so sorry."

Xander turned as the commander briskly approached them. He cried out in protest as the commander pointed his wand at Cecil. The girl barely had time to flinch before there was a flash of light, and she crumpled to the ground.

"Why did you do that!" Xander demanded. He shook his sister, and was relieved to find she was just unconscious.

The commander didn't answer, instead he examined the scene quickly and clinically, kneeling by Julian's still frame.

"Gunshot wound to the chest. Remnants of failed shielding. Assailants…" The commander looked at the charred remains next to Julian, and then peered down the alleyway were several more bodies lay in a similar state, "O'learys, judging by what's left of them." He turned to look at Xander.

"Your uncle is dead, I'm sorry." He said, a little more sympathetically.

Xander blinked at the news. It was as if he didn't hear it. He didn't want to hear it. He stared at the ground.

People were starting to come out of houses now. They stood on their doorsteps and whispered to one another, wringing their skirts and shifting anxiously. A piercing siren wailed over the murmur of voices. A blue police car turned onto the street and rattled to a stop on the cobblestone.

The commander stood, and crossed to where Cecil lay.

"Time to go." He scooped up the girl as if she weighed nothing.

"What's going on?" An officer stepped out of the car and strode towards the commander, "You're from them Wizard City Corps, aren't you? Tell me what's happened here."

"Yes, I am Commander Rohan Hunter. There has been a homicide here, magic was involved," the commander explained quickly, "I will give you more information, but I have urgent business that must be dealt with. In the meantime, set up a perimeter."

"But sir!" The officer started to complain, but the commander turned away from him and approached Xander, who still knelt motionless, staring at nothing.

"I know this is hard, young one. But I need you to come with me." He prodded the boy gently. Xander flinched as if he hadn't even noticed the commander was there.

"Where are we going?" The boy's voice was raw.

"Wizard City."


	9. Chapter 9

"This was supposed to be taken care of years ago!" Admiral Walker slammed his fist down on his desk. Knight Captain Kyra Steelwater did not flinch. She remained at attention on the other side of the office next to Commander Hunter. She stole a quick glance at him; she hadn't seen much of the man in the years since her first mission. He looked like he'd barely aged a day, but wizards were funny that way. Hadn't he been sent to Grizzlleheim to oversee the settlement of clan disputes? She could still feel sand in her boots from her time in Krokotopia fighting the mander slave trade. Her skin was several shades darker from long days under the desert sun, and she was still dressed in the pale sun-bleached rags she'd worn while undercover as a slave in the Krok temples. In her rush to get back to headquarters after receiving a priority call, she'd had no time even to change into a proper uniform. She could feel the admirals disapproving eyes on her, but he never mentioned it. They all knew the task at hand was more important than dress.

"Sir, the objective of our mission was to neutralize the threat that Xavier Dawn posed. We thought we had destroyed the demon he unleashed. The mission was believed to be by all accounts successful." The Commander's voice was steady, but Kyra could see the tension in his temples. She shared his unease, this whole thing was supposed to be finished years ago.

"I have six dead O'Learys and a lot of questioning witnesses that say otherwise, Commander. The Dawn children were under your supervision when this event occurred, no?"

"I was with the boy at the time, evaluating his abilities. The girl and her uncle were elsewhere. I did not witness the event that led to her outburst."

"Is that an excuse, Commander?"

"No Sir."

"Are we sure it was the influence of psychomancy that you witnessed, Commander?" Kyra offered, "The Dawn family is renowned for their magical talents. Could it be that the child simply lost control of her natural abilities?"

"No, this was no simple Necromancy. The child displayed classic hallmarks of possession, and all the attempts I made to contain her with shielding had no effect. Psychomancy is the only magic I have witnessed capable of this phenomenon."

"Then you believe the child, much like her father, has been possessed by a demon. Explain, commander." The Admiral leaned back and pressed his fingertips together.

"I do," Commander Hunter began "There are some texts in the restricted archives that cite this phenomenon, though lack of evidence left me doubting its authenticity, until now. I theorize that she was possessed on the same night as the professor. Probably by the very same demon. When it took over the professor, it was so desperate for power that it sapped his life away in a very short amount of time, weakening its ties to the physical world and allowing us to eliminate it with relative ease, so we thought. But spirits of psychomancy are both powerful and intelligent. It is the magic that thinks for itself. Most importantly, it can learn. After finding that sapping the life from its hosts left it vulnerable, it changed its tactics. Before it could disappear back into the void- like any normal spirit- it latched itself onto the most vulnerable and malleable creature in the vicinity."

"A newborn baby." Kyra said, starting to understand.

"Exactly. Instead of sapping her life energy away, it's taken its time hiding within her and binding itself to her over the years like a dormant disease. I must admit I was concerned about the possibility, it's one of the reason's I was so hard on the Dawn boy. To test for any trace of mind magic. But he wasn't the one we needed to worry about, it was the girl. I believe her violent emotional response has awoken it and in return it has prematurely awoken her magical abilities."

"And now this possessed child is being controlled by an extremely intelligent demon," The Admiral sighed and shook his head, "We're going to have to brand her."

Kyra forgot her form and stepped forward, putting her hands on the desk, ignoring a warning glare from Commander Hunter, "You can't just strip an innocent child of her powers! That ritual will turn her simple, if it doesn't kill her first!"

"Remember your place, soldier!" The admiral barked. Kyra stepped rigidly back into line.

"The child did demonstrate control over the demon once her brother consoled her. With training, it is possible she could learn to master it." Hunter suggested.

"She has already shown the ability to kill. I won't have her put among students and teachers were she could put others at risk. I don't like it, but she is a danger to others, and it is our responsibility to-"

The three wizards turned around as the door to the office creaked open.

"My, my, what troubling business we have here. Very troubling indeed."

Admiral Walker scowled.

"Headmaster Ambrose, you're late."

"Ricky Walker, I do seem to remember you as a youth sitting in detention quite often for the very same reason." The headmaster winked, closing the door behind him. Kyra stifled a smile. Leave it to Ambrose to take even the most distinguished wizards down a peg.

Admiral Walker brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "I was just explaining what a danger this child is. She must be branded, my fellow superiors agree. Stripping her powers away will leave the Demon with no way to hold onto her."

Ambrose seemed not to hear, twirling his beard absentmindedly.

"What's this I hear about the boy, Alexander was his name, no? A wraith at such a young age, and with no training, extraordinary!"

"Yes, yes," the Admiral waved his hand dismissively, "We're all very impressed with the prodigious young Dawn boy. That is not our concern here. We must deal with the girl."

"They are siblings Ricky, what happens to one will most certainly affect the other. How do you think young Alexander will fare with his studies if we subject his sister to such a fate?"

The Admiral tensed at the informal use of his name, "I won't allow the fate of two children to interfere with the safety of everyone around them. It's just too dangerous. I will not repeat myself again. This meeting is little more than a formality. I appreciate your concern, headmaster, but it is the Corps that receive jurisdiction in these matters."

"Hmm," Ambrose approached the far wall of the office, where a map of Wizard city was painted from floor to ceiling. An enormous tree was depicted in the center, its roots sprawling through the rest of the city.

"I do believe there is one with more power in this matter." Ambrose adjusted his monocle as he examined the tree.

"Bartleby," Kyra said in awe. She had heard that the great tree would sometimes speak on matters of importance, but in all her years had never heard him herself.

"The tree has an opinion on this?" The Admiral asked dryly.

"Oh yes. He's taken a particular interest in the creature living within young Cecilia. He speaks so little these days I suggest you heed his words wisely."

"What would he have us do with the child?" Commander Hunter asked, folding his arms.

"Bartleby is eager to see the girl for himself, to determine what manner of creature is residing within her, and if she may be able to master it. He has declared that she should attend Ravenwood, alongside her brother."

"And does he plan to take responsibility when children die the next time she loses control?" The Admiral rose from his chair.

"He is confident in our ability to keep her calm during her time in Ravenwood."

"Then she shouldn't study Necromancy," Commander Hunter cut in "between learning death magic and having Malistaire as head professor, I worry about the pressure she'd experience. Better to study Theurgy, the meditative nature of life magic should prove calming."

"She's a Necromancer by nature, she'd have no aptitude for Theurgy!" Kyra countered, "She'd struggle twice as much as any other student there, would that not be more stressful?"

"Silvia Drake is excellent with the young ones. She'd be able to help Cecilia work through her struggles." Ambrose suggested.

Admiral Walker sighed.

"I'm going to have to call a meeting with the superiors. But if your tree has spoken then I suppose our hands are tied. Cecilia Dawn will be allowed to study the art of Theurgy at the school of Ravenwood. The Wizard City Corps are not to be held responsible for any damage this child causes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....And in this chapter, I attempt to get away with copious amounts of exposition by putting it in a military debriefing.
> 
> If anyone was curious for more details about branding, It's a process by which a wizard's magical sensitivity is stripped away, usually reserved for the most dangerous of criminals, but they'll do it to someone that poses a significant threat to the population. The trouble is that Wizards are intrinsically connected to their magic, you can't just take it away without severely damaging their psyche. Think of it as a magical lobotomy.
> 
> Dealing with wizards is tricky, at least in my mind, because they don't just possess a weapon, they are the weapon. They can't ever turn it off, and people fear them for it. Imagine having a loaded gun strapped to your hand your entire life.


End file.
